Expandable garment hanger

ABSTRACT

An expandable garment hanger with which the invention is concerned has a body (1), a hook (2) on the body to suspend the hanger and a pair of movable arms (3,4), slidably mounted on the body. The arms are arranged to move in opposite directions. A locking device (8,9) is located on the body (1) of the hanger so as to lock the movable arms relative to the body. The locking device is movable along a path parallel to the path along which the arms are movable. A biasing device, preferably a spring (27), is provided for biasing the locking device (9,9) against movement in one direction so that when the arm of the hanger is set and locked in position the arms of the hanger are movable against the biasing force of the spring (27). The hanger conveniently supports garments of varying waist widths and maintains the hanger at the desired widths once the garment is mounted on the hanger but also allows the garment to be removed from the hanger by a small inward force applied to the end of the arm.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/761,828, filed Sept.10, 1991, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to expandable garment hangers.

2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Garment hangers in which the outer ends are intended to grip waistbandsof garments such as trousers and skirts are well known. It is also knownfor the hanger to have a structure which is used to accommodatewaistbands of different sizes. However, until now it has been difficultto construct a hanger in which the full range of garment sizes from 8 to20 can be accommodated. Hangers having varying widths have been proposedin which two gripping ends are moved in dependence one upon the otherfrom a centre portion and locked in position against the waistband of agarment to be supported so that the hanger is maintained at its selectedposition. However, it is difficult to remove the garment from thehangers which have spring biased arms so as to expand the arms outwardlyto accommodate various size waistbands. When a customer is selectingbetween two or three samples of the same garment of two or more sizesthe garments are rarely replaced by the customer with the garment sizeson the hangers according to the labelling on the hanger. One typicalsuch garment hanger is that disclosed in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No.5,044,535.

There has been at least one attempt to overcome these problems byproviding a garment hanger with a central guide body from which extendstwo movable arms, one from each end. The body has a centrally locatedhook and a mechanism interconnecting the arms so that movement of onearm causes movement of the other in an opposite direction. A lockingdevice in the form of a pivotally mounted lever on the guide body on oneside of its pivotal mounting engages with a series of serrations on onearm to lock the arms from movement in one direction, and on the otherside of the pivot is a release lever. When pressure is applied to therelease lever the portion thereof engaging the serrations disengagesfrom the serrations to release the arms for movement in eitherdirection.

Disadvantageously, the hanger when inserted into a garment such as askirt sometimes lies with the bulk of the hanger inside the garment thusmaking it difficult to operate the locking device to release the movablearms inwardly and easily detach the garment from the hanger.

Moreover, it has been shown that customers handling the hangers in largedepartment stores, for example, find the hanger mechanism difficult tohandle in that they operate the release mechanism to remove the garmentand then have difficulty in correctly replacing the garment on thehanger. Often a customer will set the hanger prior to re-fitting thegarment on it and find the hanger to be too wide. The customer then hasto operate the release mechanism and reset the hanger rather than simplyinsert the hanger into the waistband of the garment and pull the armsout to match the waistband of the garment.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a hanger in which the abovementioned disadvantages are substantially overcome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a garment hangerhaving a body; hook means on the body for suspending the hanger; amovable arm or arms slidably mounted on the body for free movement inopposite directions; characterised in locking means mounted on the bodyfor locking a movable arm relative to the body against substantialmovement in one direction and being movable along a path substantiallyparallel to the path along which an arm of the hanger is movable, thelocking means extending through a slot in the body of the hanger andinwardly to engage with teeth of a ratchet on at least one ofcorresponding teeth on the locking means across a transverse face of thelocking means and are engagable with the teeth of the ratchet forlocking the or each movable arm in a selected position, the lockingmeans being arranged to move longitudinally along the slot in the bodyof the hanger for release thereof from the ratchet, and biasing meansfor biasing the locking means against movement in one direction so thatwhen an arm of the hanger is set and locked in position the arm or armsof the hanger at each end of the body is movable with the other armagainst the biasing force of the said biasing means.

Therefore, there is disclosed in accordance with the present invention ahanger which will support garments with varying waist widths and maitainthe hanger which fits the garment at the desired spacing once thegarment is mounted on the hanger, but also allow the garment to beremoved from the hanger by a small inward force applied to the end ofthe arm. Conveniently, the hanger has a central guide body of a width atleast no greater than the minimum width of the desired range ofgarments.

The garment locking means on the central guide body is arranged to lockeach of the arms at selectable positions against substantial movement inboth outward and inward directions of said arms. The locking meanspreferably comprises a series of notches or teeth on one movable armwhich are arranged to be engaged by at least one stop on the centralguide body to locate and lock each arm in a selectable series ofpositions but also to allow a small amount of resilient movement in thearms at each selected position. The small amount of resilient movementis determined by the compressibility of the spring bias against thestop.

Conveniently, the locking means comprises a ratchet on the upper orlower sides of one arm engagable with a locking plate on the guide body.Alternatively, each of the movable arms can be provided with a form ofratchet which is engagable with the locking plate conveniently locatedon the guide body, for example at one or each end of the guide body.

Preferably, the innermost end of each arm is provided with a toothed orgeared portion engaging with a centrally located gear wheel rotatablymounted on the central guide body so that movement of one arm inwardlyor outwardly inherently moves the other arm in the opposite direction sothat both arms move either inwardly or outwardly together.

In one preferred embodiment the locking means comprises an elongateplate located on the body with its longitudinal axis extendingtransversely to the direction of movement of the movable arms. Thelocking plate extends outwardly of the hanger through the slot in thebody of the hanger and inwardly to engage with the teeth of a ratchet onthe movable arm. The locking plate is provided with teeth across atransverse face thereof to engage with the teeth of the ratchet andthereby lock the movable arm in a selected position.

The locking plate is arranged to move longitudinally along the slot inthe body of the hanger. Preferably the plate is biased towards one endof the slot by a spring, preferably the outermost end of the slotrelative to the hook.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of an expandable garmenthanger according to the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of part of the hanger of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring specifically to the drawing, an expandable garment hanger isprovided comprising a central hollow guide body 1 having a centrallylocated hook 2 for suspending the hanger, which hook is rotatablymounted in a bush 2A of the guide body 1. Two arms 3, 4 are eachslidably mounted within the hollow guide body 1 and the innermost end ofeach arm has a part 3A, 4A of reduced width on which is located a geartoothed portion 5, 6 respectively, extending inwardly along each of thearms. A gear wheel 7, rotatably mounted centrally within the guide body1 is engaged with each of the toothed portions 5, 6. Consequently,movement of one of the arms 3, 4 in one direction by reason ofinteraction between the respective gear toothed portion 5, 6 and wheel7, moves the other arm in the opposite direction. The outer end of eacharm 3, 4 is provided with a garment gripping device 10 and 11 which areangled relative to the longitudinal axis of the arms 3, 4 to prevent agarment slipping off the hanger in use.

One of the arms 4 is provided with a ratchet portion 8 comprising aplurality of teeth being located along the upper surface thereof asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The corresponding end of the guide body 1 has astop 9 for locking engagement with ratchet teeth 8. The end of the stop9 remote from that end 9A which projects outwardly of the central guidebody 1 is correspondingly toothed and free to move upwardly anddownwardly so these teeth engage or disengage with the teeth on theratchet 8.

The stop 9 comprises a short, elongate flat sided tab or plate thelength of which is longer than the width of its flat side 20. Innermostface 21 of the stop 9 is provided with sawtooth shaped teeth 22 whichinterengage with the teeth 8 on arm 4 to prevent substantial inwardmovement of the arms 3, 4 whilst allowing free outward movement thereof.

The uppermost part of the stop 9 projects through a slot 23 provided ina raised housing portion 24 on the guide body 1. The housing 24 definesa space 25 therein which is bounded on one side by an L-shaped retaineror locking plate 26 attached to the stop 9 at the innermost end of thestop with the longer side of the L lying in a plane parallel to the pathin which the arms 3, 4 are movable. A spring 27 is located within space25 as defined by the housing portion 24 and the retainer 26. The springis a coil spring and the closeness of the walls of the housing preventthe spring from distorting laterally when compressed. However, there issufficient room in space 25 for the tab 9 to be held and pulled upwardlyto disengage teeth 22 from ratchet teeth 8.

The teeth 22 of the stop 9 remain in engagement with the ratchet teeth 8on the arm 4 during compressibility of the arms 3, 4 towards each otherthereby providing the arms with a relatively small degree of resilienceunder the force applied by the spring 27 even though the arms 3, 4 havebeen generally set for a particular size of garment. The amount ofmovement is determined by the amount the spring will compress. In thepresent instance the spring will allow the stop 9 to move approximately,for example, 12 mm resulting in 48 mm of slack in the garment waistband.

In operation the hanger is set to receive a garment having a particularsize of waistband, for example, by pulling outwardly on one end of onearm 3, 4 whereupon the other arm moves accordingly because of theinterconnection between the arms by gear wheel 7. Once the garmenthanger is at the correct width for a particular sized garment one end ofthe hanger is placed within the garment against the waistband. Theopposite end of this hanger having stop tab 9 is forced inwardly againstthe biasing force of spring 27 for a very short distance relative to thefull movement of the arms 3, 4 in the central guide body 1, to allow theopposite end of the hanger to be inserted into the waistband. The arm isreleased and expands under the force of spring 23 to fit tightly intothe waistband but with the stop 9 substantially against the end of theslot remote from the hook 2.

The resilience in the relatively fixed arms of the hanger is useful whena customer removes and replaces the garment on the hanger when trying onthe garment by the appropriate inward movement of the arms against theinfluence of the spring 27. However, the garment may not be placed onanother hanger set for a different size of garment unless the hanger isreset since inward movement of the arms is relatively small.

In describing the operation of the hanger it is assumed the arms 3, 4are in their most inwardly position in which free ends 12, 13 ofoverlapping portions 3A, 4A overlie end walls 15, 14, respectively, ofthe opposite arm.

The expandable garment hanger is then placed inside the waistband of agarment such as a skirt or a pair of trousers with, garment grippingdevice 10 against the waistband. The arm 4 is pulled outwardly of thecentral guide body 1 until the garment gripping device 11 engages theopposite side of the waistband. As the arm 4 moves outwardly the arm 3automatically moves outwardly until the waistband of the garment is atfull width and supported on the hanger. The teeth on stop tab 9 thenengage the ratchet teeth 8 and prevent inward movement of the arms 3, 4thus ensuring the garment is securely supported at its waistband withoutstretching or distorting the garment.

The garment is removable from the hanger by applying pressure upon theends of the arms inwardly towards the centre of the hanger and againstspring 27. Alternatively, the tab 9 is pulled upwardly or pushedupwardly to release teeth 22 from ratchet teeth 8 whereupon the arms ofthe hanger are movable inwardly.

Whilst the present invention has been described with reference to alocking tab located towards one end of the hanger, such a locking tabcan be provided at both ends of the garment hanger, either along the topof the hanger or along the side face of the hanger. In the latterinstance the ratchet teeth on the arm are also on the side face thereofadjacent to the side face through which the stop tab 9 projects.

In a further alternative expandable garment hanger according to thepresent invention the movement of the arms 3, 4 is obtained by replacingthe gear toothed portion and wheel by a lever pivotally mounted betweenopposite ends thereof, and connected at the opposite ends to arespective one of the inner ends of the arms 3, 4.

Therefore, there has been described a hanger in which the locking stopcomprises an arm slidably mounted on the guide body and having a seriesof notches or teeth on an end face of the locking stop, which teeth arearranged to engage with at least one tooth on the movable armsubstantially to lock the arm in a selected series of positions.

A ratchet may be provided on the upper and lower sides of the movablearm engagable with a stop member on one or each end of the central guidebody.

Conveniently, the body comprises a central guide of a width at least nogreater than the minimum width of the desired range of garments, twoarms mounted in the central guide body for slidable movement in oppositedirections relative to each other, a garment gripper at a free outermostend of each arm. The locking stop is provided on one or both arms of thecentral guide body to lock each of the arms at selected positionsagainst inward movement of said arms.

In a further alternative arrangement one arm can be fixed or adjustedindependently with its own locking device (without the centre gearwheel) and the other arm move inwardly and outwardly as substantiallydescribed previously including the spring locking arrangement.

I claim:
 1. In a garment hanger having a body with an elongated slot,hook means on the body for suspending the hanger, a movable arm slidablymounted on the body for free movement in opposite directions, andlocking means mounted on the body for locking said movable arm relativeto the body against movement in one direction, a locking device havingteeth, the locking means including a ratchet on said arm engagable bysaid teeth, the improvement being in the locking device being movablealong a path substantially parallel to the path along which said arm ofthe hanger is movable, the locking device extending outwardly throughsaid elongate slot in the body of the hanger and inwardly to engage saidratchet on the said arm in a selected position, the locking device beingmovable longitudinally along the slot in the body of the hanger forrelease thereof from the ratchet, and biasing means engagable with thelocking device for biasing the locking device against movement in onedirection so that when said arm of the hanger is set and locked inposition the arm of the hanger is movable against the biasing force ofthe said biasing means.
 2. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein thelocking means comprises a ratchet on the upper or lower side of said armengagable with a locking plate on the body.
 3. The hanger as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the hanger has two arms movable together in oppositedirections, each movable arm being provided with a ratchet.
 4. Thehanger as claimed in claim 3, wherein the lockable plate is located atone or each end of the body for engagement with the ratchet of one ofthe movable arms.
 5. The hanger as claimed in claim 3 whereininterengaging means between the movable arms comprises a toothed wheelrotatably mounted on the body, which is engagable with a toothed portionon each arm.
 6. The hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the biasingmeans comprises a spring to force the locking device outwardly of thehanger along a path parallel to the path of movement of the arm of thehanger.
 7. A garment hanger having a body, hook means on the body forsuspending the body, a movable arm longitudinally, slidably, mounted onthe body for movement in a longitudinal direction, locking means capableof locking the movable arm relative to the body in any selectedlongitudinal position against inward movement in a longitudinaldirection and biasing means for biasing the locked arm against inwardlongitudinal movement of the arm so that when the arm is locked in itsselected locked position the arm is inwardly movable by a limited amountagainst the biasing force of the biasing means to reduce the width ofthe hanger to enable removal of a garment hung on the garment hanger. 8.The hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein the locking means comprises aratchet on the upper side of the movable arm engagable with a lockingplate on the guide body.
 9. A hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein thebiasing means comprises a spring which is located against the lockingdevice for biasing the locking device and movable arm in a directionsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the movable arm ofthe hanger.
 10. A hanger as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hanger hastwo movable arms.